Nearly each selling enactment uses marketing automation platforms these days. However, conscionable having a MAP isn’t enough. You person to recognize however to usage and extract worth from it. That starts with optimizing the information intake process. Justin Sharaf, vice president of selling operations astatine information quality institution Collibra, shares 4 casual ways to bash that.

1. Consolidating web forms

The champion signifier is to make 2 oregon 3 web signifier templates you tin reuse crossed each of the forms connected your website. You tin usage these for assets downloads, for interaction income requests, for starter proceedings requests, registering for a webinar, oregon immoderate different benignant of contented that idiosyncratic would entree from your website. 

“With 2 oregon 3 templates utilizing the aforesaid accusation crossed each of those forms, you tin person accordant information successful the aforesaid format crossed each of your sources, getting into your selling automation system,” said Sharaf. “The different happening this allows you to bash is to guarantee that erstwhile others extracurricular of your squad are creating web forms they cognize precisely however to acceptable those things up and there’s nary manual involution from your team.”

Dig deeper: Spreadsheets stay captious for marketers

He besides suggests utilizing hidden tract values. “Create 1 template and past usage hidden fields wrong that signifier to archer your selling squad wherever that idiosyncratic came from, what contented they downloaded, what signifier they filled out, etcetera,” helium said. 

2. Normalization of fields

When asking for idiosyncratic information, you privation to marque it arsenic casual arsenic imaginable for the visitant to answer. This tin mean limiting the options truthful you get the information you truly need.

“Instead of asking idiosyncratic for a escaped signifier occupation rubric wherever they could participate successful 1 of a cardinal antithetic occupation titles, effort asking for occupation level and role,” said Sharaf. 

That mode you don’t get antithetic responses from radical who each fundamentally person the aforesaid position, similar “director of marketing,” “director, marketing,” “DAR, marketing” and “marketing director.” Instead you get, “I americium a manager and my relation is successful marketing.” 

Dig deeper: Study: Marketing automation teams mired successful execution, neglecting strategical priorities

“This is thing that tin marque your information precise cleanable and besides allows you to bash amended segmentation successful pb scoring based connected these normalized fields,” helium said. 

3. Dropdown selection

This is simply a classical irritant that everyone has encountered: You’re asked what federation you’re from and are confronted with a dropdown that lists each state connected the satellite successful alphabetical order. It whitethorn look inclusive, but it’s truly 1 much mode to discourage a visitor. Unless you’re getting customers from each implicit the world, don’t bash this.

“If you are doing a signifier for U.S. based prospects oregon customers, enactment the United States astatine the apical of the form,” said Sharaf. “If you cognize that it’s a North America program, enactment Canada astatine the apical of the form. If you cognize it’s a European program, enactment the apical 10 European countries astatine the top.” 

This volition springiness you a overmuch higher conversion complaint connected your signifier and besides get radical to prime the close value. 

“I cognize erstwhile I’m filling retired a signifier precise quickly, oftentimes if I don’t privation radical to person my information, I’m conscionable trying to get done it quickly,” helium said. “I’ll conscionable prime the precise archetypal worth successful the prime list, adjacent if it’s not the close value. By putting the astir fashionable values astatine the top, you destruct radical doing that.”

4. Offline database uploads 

“Everyone does them,” said Sharaf. “You usage them for your offline events, sometimes usage them for your webinars, etcetera. There are a clump of antithetic usage cases. Sometimes 3rd enactment vendors volition nonstop you a list. The happening that volition streamline your intake process champion arsenic imaginable is to make an Excel oregon Google Sheets template for marketers to use.”

In that spreadsheet, acceptable the tract names to ones you privation them to use. Set validation rules to forestall putting a fig into the state tract oregon a missive successful the telephone field. Another happening you tin instrumentality vantage of is utilizing X lookups oregon V lookups to crook things similar state names into state codes if that’s what works with your system.

 “So you tin inquire the marketers to enactment precise minimal accusation into the database upload template and past you, arsenic a selling automation adept oregon information expert oregon whoever you are, tin past utilize that accusation for a elemental upload into your selling automation platform,” helium said.

These steps volition fto you instrumentality vantage of cleanable and enriched data, providing cross-functional worth for teams beyond conscionable sales. Also, they are strategy agnostic and tin beryllium utilized with immoderate MAP.

“Personally, I’ve utilized Marketo, I’ve utilized IBM, Acoustic and others,” Sharaf said, “but this evidently tin use to anything, whether it’s HubSpot oregon Eloqua oregon immoderate of the different selling automation platforms.”